Acorns Children's Hospice's PM artwork to plead for more funding
Chief executive Trevor Johnson said Acorns took this "emotional step" as it approaches a turning point."There is genuine concern we may have to make heart breaking decisions, which is why we've taken this emotional step. "We need the government to act now so children and families don't worry that the care they deserve is going to be lost.The government said in November hospices would get help to cope in the face of rising National Insurance costs and a drop in government funding.In December, it said hospices in England would receive £100m of government funding over two years to improve end-of-life care.Without funding Acorns fears it may be forced to turn away a seriously ill child for the first time in its 37-year history, Mr Johnson said.The charity received £2.2m from the Children's Hospice Grant but it said in eight months the money will run out.Mr Johnson added: "One thing is certain without this funding we will have to cut services. "Our message to the Prime Minister and the government is simple it's now in your hands who has the power to ensure that all children's hospices, including Acorns, receive long-term sustainable funding."
Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
31 minutes ago
- The Guardian
What are the changes to the NDIS and how will it affect those already using it?
The Albanese government has announced major changes to the NDIS in an effort to return the scheme back its 'original intent' and curb its exponential growth. Here's what's been announced and what it will mean for Australians accessing the scheme. The health minister, Mark Butler, announced major changes to the scheme at the National Press Club on Wednesday. As foreshadowed by the Albanese government after the release of the NDIS review in late 2023, the federal government will establish 'foundational supports' with the help of states and territories to offer more disability support outside the NDIS. The idea is that if the NDIS is not the only 'port in the storm', as Butler put it, not as many Australians with less severe disabilities will need to access it because other programs will be able to meet their needs. The concept was agreed upon by the states and territories back in a 2023 national cabinet meeting, but has lacked any real detail until now. Sign up: AU Breaking News email Butler said the first nationally consistent foundational supports system would be a new program, called Thriving Kids, designed to divert children with mild to moderate levels of developmental delay and autism from the NDIS. The federal government will put $2bn towards Thriving Kids, a funding commitment that will be collectively matched by all states and territories. Details of what the program will deliver are still scant but are expected to be worked out over the next few months with the agreement of the states and territories. Butler flagged changes to Medicare to offer bulk-billed checks for children at three years old to detect developmental delays. Children who require additional support could then access things like occupational, speech or psychosocial therapies through new Medicare allied health items (subsidised appointments). In an opinion piece for the Nine outlets, Butler said trained practitioners were already facilitating play-based developmental activities in early childhood centres and schools around the country. The minister said the program will begin to roll out from mid-2026, with plans for it to be fully realised by mid-2027. But there is genuine concern from disability representative groups about that timing. The Children and Young People with Disability Australia's chief executive, Skye Kakoschke-Moore, said: 'the government can't seriously expect to set up a fully functional system to replace NDIS supports in under a year'. The government has indicated that access changes will begin from mid-2027, when Thriving Kids is intended to be fully rolled out. But Butler emphasised that children on the NDIS with mild to moderate levels of developmental delay and autism would not be removed from the scheme before alternative support is available. 'I want to reassure parents, there is no way I'm going to let children slip between two stools,' Butler told ABC radio. 'If you're on the NDIS now, if you enter the NDIS before 2027, your child will be entitled to remain on the NDIS subject to all of those usual arrangements.' Under existing arrangements, children on a full NDIS plan under the age of nine are typically re-assessed every 12–24 months. As part of changes to the NDIS Act, all participants now receive an impairment notice from the NDIA, the agency that administers the NDIS. This determines their primary impairment, rather than their disability diagnosis. Impairment categories include, intellectual, cognitive, sensory, neurological, physical and psychosocial. The government intends to roll out a new way of delivering plan budgets from September. The new framework will give participants funding for supports based on impairment needs, offering ongoing payments within a specified period rather than an upfront lump sum. The government has described the Thriving Kids program as the 'first piece of work' to give shape to the foundational supports concept – but flagged there were others on the way. Butler said the next cohort the government would look at, based on the NDIS review's findings, would include adults with more severe and complex mental illness. Other cohorts identified by the review include teens and young adults with disability who cannot access the NDIS and are preparing for key life transition points, such as school, employment and living independently.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Hull Royal Infirmary epilepsy nurses see their work go nationwide
Work by a team of nurses at Hull Royal Infirmary has been adopted by a national epilepsy charity to help young Action has published a series of leaflets aimed at teenagers, parents of children with additional needs and people who require documents that are easy to content is based on booklets created by children's epilepsy nurses Fiona Lead, Nicky Heenan, Carys Amies and Chris Bennett, who are all based at the Hull hospital."The content for the booklets took us about a year to develop [and] another year to tweak, and we've been using them for the past three years to provide structure and consistency [in our] epilepsy clinics," said Ms Lead. The leaflets are intended to support young people as they make the move from child-focused, paediatric care to adult neurology or epilepsy Lead said studies showed the move from children's services to adult services could be very challenging for young people with a long-term health condition."It's common to see a big dip in their overall health and for young people and their families to feel like they've been abandoned, but providing a structured transition programme is widely acknowledged to help avoid some of these issues," she said."To have our content form the basis of nationwide resources for families and young people, we jumped at the chance."It was a real compliment, and it's great to know that the work we have done here in Hull, influenced by the many children, families and young people that we care for, is now helping to inform and support thousands of other families across the country who are living with epilepsy." Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here. Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
New prostate cancer exam opens door to screening
A new system to detect prostate cancer could help pave the way for the introduction of screening. The model, introduced at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation trust, means men with suspected disease get a far more comprehensive assessment before undergoing scans. This reduces the number of false positives and spares more men from undergoing needless biopsies. The Telegraph is campaigning for the introduction of targeted screening, so those most at risk, such as black men and those with a family history of disease, are offered PSA tests. The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) – which is currently considering whether to recommend the rollout of testing – has previously rejected the idea because of concern that PSA tests are too unreliable, and would result in too many men undergoing needless procedures. But technology used to confirm a diagnosis has significantly improved in recent years. At the Marsden, the new model has meant rates of detection of 'significant cancer' – higher-grade disease which would warrant treatment – have risen from 27 per cent to 52 per cent. Because so many cases are filtered out earlier, average time from referral to MRI decreased from nine days to three days under the new model. Experts said innovations like the 'Speed pathway' (superior prostate experience and efficient diagnostics) could prove crucial in helping the NHS to introduce screening without putting too many men through invasive procedures. Dr Netty Kinsella, nurse consultant in uro-oncology at the Marsden, said the new system was 'fundamentally a triage optimisation model – directing high-risk patients through rapid MRI and biopsy, while sparing low-risk or inappropriate cases from unnecessary investigation.' She said: 'This both improves diagnostic accuracy and frees capacity for those most likely to benefit.' The Speed pathway involves a detailed initial clinical history, physical examination and urinary assessment ahead of MRI scans. It also uses AI-assisted imaging for more precise diagnosis. The checks mean other benign conditions affecting the prostate – and urine infections – are more likely to be detected early, ruling out more cases without an MRI or biopsy.
